Kirk Johnson will become the Director of the National Museum
of Natural History at the Smithsonian

Denver-September 26, 2012-Dr. Kirk Johnson will
present a farewell lecture at the Denver Museum of Nature &
Science on Monday, October 1. This sold-out event will open with
remarks from Governor John Hickenlooper and be followed by a
celebratory reception for Johnson. He begins his new job as
Director of the National Museum of Natural History at the
Smithsonian on October 29.

For the past six years, Johnson has been the Museum's chief
curator and vice president of research and collections. During his
21-year tenure at the Museum, he has been deeply committed to
engaging the public in science and education. The paleobotanist has
traveled to seven continents and explored more than 1,400 fossil
sites. From excavating a fossil tropical rain forest in Castle
Rock, to leading a dozen trips to the Amazon, to searching for the
K-T boundary in remote China, India, and New Zealand, and leading
the Museum's largest excavation in its history at the Ice Age site
in Snowmass Village, the world has been Johnson's
sandbox.

Johnson has shared his life of science and discovery by
delivering hundreds of lectures, writing popular books about
paleontology, collaborating with artists to tell science stories,
leading research projects for citizen scientists, and touring many
schoolchildren through the collections-all with contagious energy.
He has been among the lead developers of the new Rocky Mountain
Science Collections Center (RMSCC), now under construction and
slated to open in 2014. The facility has long been a dream of
Johnson's, where the Museum's 1.4 million treasures could be
preserved, accessed, and studied in state-of-the-art
conditions.

Seating in the Phipps IMAX Theater is sold out. Overflow
seating has been added for this event in Ricketson Auditorium where
you can watch a live broadcast, and then attend the cash bar
reception celebration with Kirk.

Enjoy a farewell lecture from Kirk Johnson before he heads to
Washington, D.C., to become director of the National Museum of
Natural History at the Smithsonian. During his 21 years at this
Museum, Johnson traveled to seven continents and explored more than
1,400 fossil sites. He excavated a fossil tropical rain forest in
Castle Rock, drilled a 2,200-foot-deep core in Kiowa to examine the
geological history of the Denver Basin, led multiple trips on the
Amazon, delved into the vast fossil landscape of Patagonia,
searched for the K-T boundary in remote China, and directed the
Museum's largest excavation in its history, at the Ice Age site in
Snowmass Village. Celebrate with us as Johnson highlights 21 years
of science adventures and discoveries, in his own indelible style.
A reception with Johnson follows the lecture.

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the Rocky Mountain
Region's leading resource for informal science education. A variety
of engaging exhibits, discussions and activities help Museum
visitors celebrate and understand the natural wonders of Colorado,
Earth and the universe. The Museum is located at 2001 Colorado
Blvd., Denver, CO, 80205. To learn more about the Museum,
check www.dmns.org, or call 303-370-6000. Many of
the Museum's educational programs and exhibits are made possible in
part by the citizens of the seven-county metro area through the
Scientific & Cultural Facilities District.